Marshall County and Murray High played for the 4th District volleyball title on Tuesday and it was the Lady Marshals that claimed the hardware in a 3-1 victory by scores of 25-15, 25-18, 17-25 and 25-14. It was their fifth straight year to raise the district championship trophy.
“The pressure was on to keep it going”, Head Coach Paige Fletcher said. “I’m very proud. It’s hard to stay consistent when the competition ups and in a moment like this, all the pressure’s on.”
In the first set, the Lady Marshals took an early 4-0 lead in part on a kill from Kylie Merrick and ace by Emma Reynolds. Murray charged back and tied the game up at 4-4 on a kill by Macy Chiles.
Four more ties followed before the Lady Marshals began to pull away, gaining momentum on consistent serving from Emma Reynolds and Merrick. They finished out the 25-15 first set win on two straight kills by Catherine Shelton and Bella Redden.
With a 7-6 second set lead, kills from Redden, Laney Yates and Olivia Hawkins for the Lady Marshals helped push the score to 19-13. A couple of kills from Chiles gave the Lady Tigers some momentum and they closed the Marshall County lead down to three at 21-18.
A run of four straight points followed for the Lady Marshals with the final point to close out the 25-18 set win coming on an ace by Merrick to give them a 2-0 lead in the match.
Reminiscent of the second time the two teams met during the regular season, the Lady Tigers came roaring back to take the third set 25-17. The set for Murray was highlighted by kills from Mary Jane Derringer and Chiles that gave them their largest lead at 20-10 on the way to the win and avoid a three-set sweep by Marshall County.
Kills from Merrick and Hawkins in the fourth set helped push the early lead to 6-1 before the Lady Tigers closed it down to 8-7. A 5-0 run by the Lady Marshals gave them a 13-8 lead in the set that was filled with lengthy rallies as both teams battled for each point. In the end, the Lady Marshals prevailed with a 25-14 win to claim the match and district tournament title.
“Up 2-0, we always talk about okay let’s keep it going…don’t slump”, Fletcher said. “I’m proud of them for coming back in the fourth set.”
Fletcher said they talked about being confident and doing the little things in the huddle after the third set loss.
“We’re still young”, Fletcher said. “I have a lot of freshmen out there so they’re finally finding their way from the beginning of the year to now. It’s amazing to watch them grow.”
Both teams will move on to next week’s Region 1 Tournament.
Marshall County’s well-balanced attack was spread among several players. In kills, Merrick led with eight, Hawkins had seven and Yates, Redden and Shelton all recorded five each. Terry led in digs with 22, Reynolds had eight and Yates and Redden with six each. Reynolds had 27 assists as well as seven aces. Merrick had four aces and Redden had three.
All-District Team
Marshall County: Emma Reynolds, Maleah Terry, Olivia Hawkins, Catherine Shelton
Murray: Macy Chiles, Allison Vonnahme, Reilly Bassett
Christian Fellowship: Jenna Neal, Abby Miller
Calloway County: Kayden Patrick, Cambrey Driscoll
Marshall County vs. Murray, 4th District Championship
